A Normal Girl
by Ty3
Summary: This is a story that's kind of what I would do if I was in DA. Basically, the transgenics get their first groupie. It should be fun.
1. Maleah's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

****

Maleah's POV:

I stand at the back of the seemingly tireless mass of protestors and news crews. They seethe along the edge of the police barricade, yelling and throwing things at the Terminal City fence line. The anger, fear, and hate of the amassed people is a palpable blight on the atmosphere. I'm half expecting to hear a cry of, "Transgenics ate my baby!"

People are stupid. They would rather be in the dark than afraid. They were perfectly happy living their lives not knowing about the existence of transgenics and now that they know about them they long for how things used to be. They scream at them to go back where they came from, which they obviously can't do since Manticore was burned to the ground. But people don't think about that. All they ever think about is themselves and how they have been inconvenienced.

I come here every day and listen to them. I've come here ever since the media started talking about transgenics and how they might be in Terminal City. Today, I've had enough.

I walk away from the crowds, looking cautiously over my shoulder to make sure that I'm not followed. I head down a virtually deserted street and slip off my backpack. I set the pack down on the ground, unzip it, and pull out a crowbar. I take one more quick look around before I start prying up the manhole cover in the street.

I've thought about this for awhile, worked it all out, and I'm convinced. It's risky, but there is no turning back now. Besides, if my plan is successful, it will be worth the risk.

With that thought in mind, I ply all my strength and move the cover enough for me to slip through. I smile, return the crowbar to my pack, and take a final look around before putting my backpack on and descending into the sewers. I do my best to try and replace the cover, but it's simply too heavy. I give it up and reason to myself that the cops aren't smart enough to piece anything together anyway. If they were intelligent at all, they would have already tried the sewers.

It's really dark in the sewer. I can just barely see the rungs of the ladder thanks to the light coming from the opening in the street overhead. I jump and land with a splash in some greenish water. I reach for my pack again and extract a flashlight before continuing on.

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	2. Max's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

****

Max's POV:

A friend of mine once told me to let the injustices of the world roll off me like water. I've been trying. I have. But it's getting real hard with all these jackass morons huddling by the fence day in and day out, screaming at us to go back where we came from. Where do they expect us to go? We've got nowhere left to us. And even if I hadn't burned Manticore to the ground, could we really go back there either? No way.

People just don't get it. And worse, most of them don't even try. And that's what's getting to me. I thought that eventually they'd get tired of their stupid protests, but they keep coming back every day. I'm starting to lose hope that they'll ever accept us. Maybe we're just too different. And not even the Space Needle is helping me feel any different.

I sigh and turn to head back down. There's no point in staying up here any longer and I have stuff to do anyway. Stuff like figuring out how I'm going to feed our little freak nation this week.

Days like this I start to miss my life of just a year ago. Yeah, I was constantly ducking Lydecker, always on the run from Manticore, but at least I wasn't responsible for an entire city full of outcasts.

Maybe it's a good thing we need some supplies. I could use a little action, get my mind off the gloom and doom of our existence. Maybe I'll even take Alec along so he'll shut up about being cooped up and bored. What an idiot. If he really wants to take a stroll down Kill-the-Trannies lane, I should just let him. Things would sure be quieter around TC.

Finally, I'm back on the street and getting back on my motorcycle. At least I still have my baby. I start her up and really let her loose on the way back to TC. I need the speed. I need to shake this bad mood a little before I get back or I might just snap and wring Alec's stupid neck.

But all too soon I'm in sight of the fence and those morons who seem to have set up shop outside of it. Do they really think they're going to scare us off with their idiotic burning X's? After the hell Manticore put us through, these guys are a joke.

I'd like to just jump my motorcycle over their heads again, but I know that's not a good idea. I don't want to give them another shot at getting an ID on my bike. I don't need to hand them another way of tracking me and there's no way I'm giving up my baby. So instead I turn my bike and head towards the water where I know there's a large sewage tunnel. Mentally, I apologize to my Ninja for contaminating her again. I spent forever getting the sewage off of her last time. But it's the only way to safely get in and out of TC.

The water splashes up on either side of me as I enter the tunnel, but then the concrete walks along the edges start and I can ride along that. It's dark even for me so I flip on my headlight. A few twists and turns and some surprisingly awful smells later, I've reached my destination. The ramp we put in that leads up to a grate that large enough for my bike to fit through. I crouch low because it's still a tight squeeze and appear back on the surface in an alley. I switch the headlight off again and head towards HQ.

Lately, being in TC has made me feel really trapped. Even the air feels different, heavier somehow. I try to just ignore it, but it gets harder the longer I'm here. I miss my friends, especially OC. I miss hanging out at Crash. Hell, I even miss Normal and delivering packages.

I sigh again and shake my head to get those thoughts out of it. I turn the motorcycle off and head inside. Immediately, I can't help but assess the room; taking in who's there, where they are in the room, where the weapons are, all possible exits, and anything else that prove to be a tactical asset. Alec was leaning back in a chair when I walked in, balancing it on its back legs and resting his feet on the table that Mole has piled some guns on that he is cleaning. Now he's walking towards me, which is never good.

"What?" I demand.

"Well, hello to you, too." he chides.

I cross my arms and tap my foot impatiently, hoping he'll get the gist and get to the point. He sighs and shakes his head like he's given up on me.

"Maxie." he whines like the five-year-old whose maturity level he shares, "I wasn't made for this. I'm not the kind of artwork you hang on the wall and admire. I'm the kind of damn fine specimen you put into action."

"You're the kind of annoying idiot that I usually ignore." I correct.

"So nice of you to make an exception. You're a giver, Max."

"You're a real jackass. Is there a point in this somewhere?"

"Okay, fine. Just hear me out. I want to pull a job. I've been casing some places and yeah, I know, I shouldn't be outside the fence. Blah blah blah. But I think I've found some good heists just waiting to happen. We could lift some stuff, fence it, and, you know, buy some toys for X-8's or something. Something good, I promise. No hookers." he crosses his heart and looks at me pleadingly.

I can't help but grin. His eyes narrow suspiciously, making me grin wider.

"What?" he asks cautiously.

"Okay." I say.

"Sorry." he blinks.

"Okay. We'll pull a job. But I'm calling the shots." I make sure to add that stipulation. Alec will just screw things up.

Alec remains suspicious for a moment before a grin slowly appears on his face. He gives me an extremely sarcastic two-fingered salute.

"Sure thing, boss." he agrees.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes.

"Show me what you've got. We may have enough time to do this tonight."

----------


	3. Alec's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

****

Alec's POV:

I think Max must be losing it. I mean, that was the most civil conversation we've had in a week. Plus, she actually agreed to my idea. Max agreeing with me is never very commonplace. Oh, well. It's probably best not to question it. She might change her mind. That would be just like her. Damn fickle female.

I really do need to get out of here and do something. The couple times I snuck out to case the potential targets I looked up were nice. I got to stretch my legs a little and get some fresh air. But there was no challenge, no action. You would think with a "war" on transgenics going on there'd be more action. So far, all it has been is a stand-off, which, trust me, has been extremely dull. Maybe they're trying to bore us to death.

I gather up the maps I made of the three houses that seemed like the best places to hit. Just from my cursory observations I noticed some nice pieces that I know I could fence through some of my connections. And you know if they can afford stuff like that they've got a stash somewhere.

I turn around to take the papers to Max, give her a run down of the places, make a few "suggestions" because she just has to be in charge. But just as I'm about to shove Mole's shotgun out of the way and spread out the plans, I'm interrupted by the side door slamming open and Kyle, the X-5 who was patrolling the Southwest quarter of TC, comes in with a girl in tow.

"Found her wandering around inside the fence. No barcode." Kyle says, propelling her forward into the room and letting her go.

Well, that's interesting.

Everyone in HQ gathered around who'd somehow found a way into our little home. Mole, never one for patience or subtlety, jabbed at her with an MP-5 and growled the obvious question.

"How'd you get in here?"

The girl was obviously intimidated by Mole. Understandable. At least she wasn't screaming or anything. But her legs were definitely shaking. Hmm, as long as I'm looking at her legs I might as well give her a once-over. Not too bad. I'd definitely do her.

"Sewer system." she says quietly.

"I knew we should have posted a guard in the sewers." Mole grumbled, throwing an accusing look Max's way. Max glares back, refusing to back down.

A post in the sewers? That would be one hell of a punishment. And, knowing Max, I'd probably get stuck with it. No, I'm definitely not going to vote for something like that. I mean, we caught her, didn't we?

"What are you doing here?" Max pressed on with the interrogation, "This isn't exactly part of the tour."

"I came to find you." the girl said.

"Me?" Max asked, suspicious.

Well, I guess I would be too if familiars had me targeted.

"Well, not you in particular. All of you." she corrected.

She looked like she would have elaborated if Mole didn't interrupt with a sharp, "Why?"

The girl managed to look annoyed before she met Mole's gaze. That's enough to shake anybody's expression.

"Uh...well...I guess because I...well, because I felt like I had to." she stammered. She obviously realized how vague that was and quickly continued "What I mean is that I feel like I should be here with you, not out there with them. I..."

She shook her head, frustrated.

"But you're one of them." Mole taking a step towards her.

I expected her to take a step back, but she didn't. I raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"But I feel more like one of you." she replied.

That stopped everybody for a moment. An ordinary who felt like a transgenic? Damn, she must be nuts.

"She's a lunatic. Let's show her the sewer out." I suggest.

"I'm not crazy!" she protests, whipping around to face me, "I've listened to those idiots on TV and outside Terminal City every day. Everything they say is astoundingly ignorant. And besides that I've...I've always felt different. Wanted to be, even. I've wanted to be like you guys."

"Alec, you're right. She's crazy." Max agrees.

"I'm not. I swear." the girl pleads, "I just hate being...ordinary. Please, I can help you guys. I can get you stuff from outside, whatever." 

I slowly smile as a thought dawns on me.

"We've got a groupie."

"What?" Max demands and gives me her patented 'Alec, this better not be something stupid or I'll kick your ass' look.

"She's a transgenic groupie." I elaborate since apparently Max is a little slow on the uptake.

Things are looking very promising on the 'Alec getting laid' front. That is, as long as I talk the rest of the guys out of kicking her ass to the curb. I wrap my arm around Max's shoulders and lead her away from the others. She glares at me for daring to make physical contact and almost immediately shakes off my arm. But she's still off to the side with me where I can attempt to persuade her to see things my way.

"Look, Max. I think we should hear this girl out. It is dangerous for us to be out there. White's probably issued our pictures to every cop in the city. It makes sense to have as many outside connections as we can get. Sketch and OC can't do everything. Besides, I like her. She sounds sincere."

Max looks suspicious, but she can't dispute the logic of my argument.

But she shakes her head anyway.

"No, Alec. I'm not dragging anyone else into this. I agree. She sounds sincere. Which means she hasn't got a clue. We're getting her out of here for her own good."

Damn, she's going the moral route.

"I think she'll just come back, Max. She seems pretty determined. And if she gets caught trying to sneak back in here and the mob starts tearing her apart for being a trannie or a trannie-lover, wouldn't that be our fault, too?"

Ha, beat that one, Maxie.

She opens her mouth to reply, then realizes that I've actually got a point. She closes her mouth and thinks while I grin triumphantly.

"It's what she wants." I add.

"Well, how do we know she isn't really crazy or...or a familiar spy or something?" Max demands.

"Well, some of us are kind of perceptive. I think we'd pick up on it if she kept having meetings with big dudes in dark alleys."

Max punches my arm and I know I've won. She always resorts to physical violence when she can't think of anything.

"Fine." she says through clenched teeth, grabbing the front of my shirt and pulling me closer to try and intimidate me, "But she's your responsibility. You're the one who makes sure she doesn't get hurt or do anything that'll hurt us."

I pull her hands off my shirt and turn to go inform the groupie of her status, "Whatever."

----------


	4. Maleah's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

****

Maleah's POV:

It was kind of obvious that the two X-series transgenics who'd moved off to the side were deciding my fate. My eyes kept flickering between watching them and keeping an eye on the transgenics standing around me, especially the tall, lizard-like one. I never thought lizards could growl before.

The two apparent leaders walk back over and I immediately straighten up. This is it. This is the moment when my plan succeeds or fails miserably, accepted or rejected by even the outcasts. That's a depressing thought.

"Alright, people, here's how this is going to work." the girl says in a commanding tone, "We're going to cut this girl a break because we all know what it's like to be out of place, to not fit in. So, she's on probation and Alec, here, is going to make sure everything stays cool."

"This isn't a home for the strange. It's us against them! We can't let them into our ranks." the lizard-guy protests.

"Hey!" the girl snaps, "Some of them are what's keeping cigars in your mouth so I'd show a little more appreciation."

"A handful of exceptions don't make up for the millions that want us dead, Max."

"But they could be the difference between us living and dying. We need all the help we can get and you know it." the girl who must be Max retorts.

"I don't like it." lizard-guy growls and stalks off.

"Noted." Max mutters. Her attention turns to me, "So, what's your name?"

I try not to give a relieved sigh and reply, "Maleah."

"Pretty name." the guy that Max had called Alec comments.

Now that the pressure is mostly off, I actually take the time to realize how incredibly good looking this guy is. He's all perfect muscle, clearly defined even through his clothes. His eyes are a deep hazel, his hair just begging to be touched. His perfect grin seems to make my knees less stable somehow. My mind quickly recalls all the guys I can remember meeting, but I can't think of one that was sexier. I quickly look away, hoping that he won't notice that my cheeks are getting redder.

"Thanks." I manage what seems like about thirty seconds after I should have responded.

I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and see that he is grinning. I'm sure my cheeks are getting even redder. I try to ignore my embarrassment and instead notice the dispersal of the transgenics who had been encircling me. They go to various positions in the building, working at computers or looking over papers. I can hardly believe they let me into their world. I know they have every right to hate and fear me. I am a member of the race that feels the same way towards them. I was just sort of hoping that they would find it in them to give me a chance. Luckily, that highly improbable occurrence actually happened. I kind of feel like celebrating.

"So, should I give you the grand tour?" Alec asks, drawing my attention back to him.

"Alec, we have some things to take care of, remember?" Max says before I can respond.

"Later." Alec waves her off, "Check out the plans on the desk over there and I'll meet you here in an hour."

"Alright, but don't be late or I'll--"

"Kick my ass. I know, I know." he finishes for her. He turns to me and gestures for me to follow him towards the side door, "Don't mind her. She's kind of uptight and violent because of her unrequited lust for me."

"Alec!" Max hisses.

"She's obsessed with my ass. It's kind of unnerving." Alec continues with a large grin on his face.

"Alec, I swear to God I'll kill you!" Max yells just before we're out the door.

Judging from Max's reaction and Alec's expression, Alec is just teasing her and is really getting a kick out of it. I smile. Transgenics don't act much different than regular people.

I decide to tell him as much, "You don't seem so different."

"Oh, I'm not your average guy." he says, emphasizing 'average' and raising an eyebrow. He obviously means in more ways than just the one I was talking about. I try again not to blush.

"Well, what makes you so different, then?" I ask, feeling bold, "They weren't very specific on the news. Just said that you're supposed to be some kind of real-life G.I. Joe or something."

"Or something." he scoffs. His eyes go kind of dark before he continues, "It's like this, babe. Back in the day, this crazy guy decided that he wanted to improve upon the old model human. The government came along and said, 'Good idea and while you're at it, why don't you make him a soldier in our army. We'll give you the funding and let you do your research without sticking you in prison.' So, of course, Mr. Mad Scientist agrees and the next thing you know you've got kids with spliced DNA in boot camp and some wack guys like Mole in there running the new and improved special ops units. You and me are more different than you can imagine."

For a moment, I'm stunned as images of toddlers with machine guns flash in my mind. I blink a few times to get back to reality.

"Oh, yeah? Well, show me something, then." I challenge.

"Alright." he agrees.

He looks around, clearly trying to think of what he can show me. His eyes kind of light up and his lips quirk as an idea comes to his mind.

"How about this?" he asks.

The next thing I know he's running towards the wall. I lose track of him, he's moving so fast and then, all of a sudden, I feel a tap on my other shoulder. I whip my head around to find him standing on my other side. How the...

Obviously, seeing my surprise, he smiles and explains, "We can move a lot faster than you can. Fast enough to run up a wall and flip over your head before your eyes can follow."

"Cool." I utter before I can think not to.

He smiles wider and continues walking. I follow, my mind suddenly racing with questions.

"How can you do that? What did they splice your genes with? What was Manticore like? What did they train--" I ramble off questions, barely pausing to take a breath.

"Hey, hold it. I may be genetically enhanced, but I can only answer one question at a time." he jokes, "All X-series have some animal DNA spliced with theirs. None of us are too sure about all of what they put in our cocktail, but we know that cat DNA was a big part of it. That's what makes us able to jump high, land on our feet, see in the dark, and other stuff like that."

For some reason I start thinking about those old superheroes that were so popular before the Pulse. Those old comic books were a kind of secret obsession with me. Like I told Max, Alec, and the others before, I've never felt like the so-called 'normal' people. I've always felt I should have been born like one of them so that maybe I could be someone extraordinary, do something extraordinary. I know I shouldn't be, but I'm actually kind of jealous of the transgenics. I don't want to be persecuted or anything, but I would almost be willing to accept that consequence if I could be one of them.

I stamp down on my thoughts and shove them to the back of my mind like I always do. I don't need to share that with Alec. He'd probably be offended.

"It's hard to believe that you trust me enough to tell me all this." I say instead.

Alec catches and holds my gaze.

"Hate to break it to you, babe, but we don't. I'm only telling you things that the people who really want to hurt us already know." he admits.

I nod slowly. I'm kind of disappointed, but I understand. They have to be careful.

"But, on with the tour." Alec says, dismissing the serious moment, "On your left is the lovely abandoned supermarket. Up ahead is one of many trashed warehouses. And just past that is one of my personal favorites, the shitty, run-down apartment complex where I live."

I glance ahead at the places he's indicated. Despite the immense amount of sarcasm in his voice, I'm actually kind of interested in these places. After all, the transgenics have probably completely changed the insides of them.

"You want to go up to my place and get a drink?" Alec asks, adding, "You probably shouldn't stay outside for too long at a time anyway. What with the toxins and stuff."

I nod. That was the one part of my plan that I hadn't completely thought through. I knew that remaining in Terminal City for too long would make me sick and I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. Maybe the transgenics would have an idea since they appeared to be immune to whatever chemicals were in the area. But that's probably another question to save for when they trust me.

"Why not?" I say, adding a shrug to emphasize my indifference.

"Well, follow me then. Just...uh...don't expect much." he warns.

In my mind I reply, 'Like I'm really going to be looking at my surroundings when you're in the room.' But, of course, I don't tell him that.

"I won't." comes out of my mouth.

I let him lead the way to the apartment building. The outside is just as trashy as any building in Terminal City. Nothing would reveal to a stranger that a bunch of genetically engineered soldiers are living inside. The rear end of the guy in front of me, however, was a whole different story. I'll bet that attracted a lot of attention.

"Coming?"

I nearly jumped, immediately straightening and hoping he hadn't seen my head tilted to the side and my eyes focused somewhere lower than his back. 

"Yeah." I agreed quickly, hurrying a little to make up the space that had appeared between us due to my lagging behind.

I was really going to have to try harder to be more inconspicuous.

----------


	5. Alec's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

****

Alec's POV:

I can't help but grin again when I catch her checking me out for the third time. She's pretty cute for an ordinary. Sure, she's not perfect like an X-5 girl, but definitely better than a bunch of the girls I've slept with before. She seems kind of interesting, too. The kind of girl I might actually want to talk to.

I grab the door handle to the apartment complex and pull open the door, holding it for her.

"After you." I say, gesturing for her to go ahead.

After all, it's only fair that I get the chance to check out her ass, too. I'm all about equal opportunity, really.

So far this is shaping up to be a good night. About time, too. Things haven't been too great ever since the Jampony incident. I was never too crazy about this whole 'Transgenics Unite' experiment of Maxie's, but what was I going to do? I mean, it's Max.

"Hey, Alec?" Maleah asks, interrupting my thoughts.

"Mmm?" I ask.

"Where am I going?"

"Oh! Yeah, I live upstairs. This way." I lead her to the stairs and we head up. I glance her and decide that it's about time she answered some of my questions, "So, Maleah, what do you do?"

"Do? Well, nothing great. I'm a waitress." she says.

"Hey, a job's a job, right? I was a bike messenger." I shrug, "Don't you have any friends or anything out there that are going to wonder where you've disappeared to?"

She shakes her, "Like I said, I've never really felt like one of them."

Now, I feel kind of bad for her. Even I had friends out there like Sketchy and Original Cindy. But then, I'm incredibly charming. Not everyone has that kind of lovable personality.

"Well, as long as you don't turn out to be someone trying to kill us, I'm sure you'll make friends here."

"I think that's a stipulation for making friends anywhere." she replies dryly.

I raise an eyebrow. So, she's got my kind of a sense of humor. That's always a plus.

"You would think." I return before opening the door to my apartment, "Here we are."

She heads in, checking the place out with a look of curiosity. I close the door behind me and head into the kitchen area to get us some drinks.

"I've got uh...beer, scotch, and some mystery liquor." I reported after checking my stash, "What can I get you?"

"Mystery liquor?" she asks.

"Oh, you don't want that. It's something one of the guys put together. No one really knows what it is, but it does the trick." I explain as I grab myself a beer.

"I'll have whatever you have." she says.

"Okay." I nod, grabbing another beer and kicking the refrigerator closed.

I toss the can to her and she catches it. I open my own can and make for the couch.

"Was all this stuff here already?" she wonders.

"Some of it. Some stuff we brought in before the whole stand-off thing started." I pat the couch cushion next to me, "Have a seat."

She sits down and opens her beer, taking a sip. I drape my arm across the back of the couch behind her.

"So did the S1W really burn down Manticore?" she asks.

I can't help but laugh out loud at the thought of Asha and her fellow do-gooders trying to take down Manticore. They wouldn't make it past the perimeter.

Maleah's giving me a weird look so I explain, "No, no, the S1W had nothing to do with it. That was a cover story. Max is the real culprit. She's the one who let all us freaks out in the world."

"Why? Wasn't Manticore your home?"

I stiffen. Manticore, my home? Manticore could never be a home and yet it had been. It was very complicated.

"It wasn't exactly a white-picket fence type of place." 

I can feel her eyes on me, but I don't want to explain. I don't want to go into detail about what they put us through back there. So, I shake it off and smile.

"Max was never your average girl even back at ol' Manticore. She was always trouble. Never learned not to play with matches, I guess." I joke, hoping to keep her from asking anymore questions about Manticore.

"She's the leader, right?" Maleah asks.

"Yeah, I guess so. She bellows, we find ourselves obeying against our better judgment."

"She's the one who rode the hover drone into that bike messenger place, isn't she?"

I laugh again and nod, "That's her. But I don't want to talk about Max anymore. Talking about her makes the bruises I get from her hurt more. Tell me some more about you."

She smiles softly like she's remembering something funny and takes another drink of her beer. I'm pretty convinced she not a familiar. For one, I've never seen a familiar blush and two, they've never been this good at acting. Either she's a regular girl whose on our side or she's a regular girl working undercover for the government.

"Me? Um...well, I'm not from Seattle. I'm from Spokane. Moved here because I heard there were more jobs. Got to eat, you know?" she leans forward and put her elbows on her knees, "But things are pretty much the same everywhere. Not enough jobs, stupid people, same old stuff no matter where you are. Except..."

"Except?" I prod.

She leans back against my arm and looks at me.

"Except that you're in Seattle. And sometimes I feel like I was meant to come here because the transgenics are here."

This girl has some serious problems. And I'm not exactly the sensitive type. So I don't say anything, I just wait for her to continue.

She sighs heavily and takes a long drink, "And sometimes I feel like I'm just an idiot. But you don't care about that stuff. Uh...what do you want to know?"

"Well, I'm kind of curious how you think you're going to get around the whole toxic fumes thing." I say, trying to steer the conversation into a safe area.

She smiles sheepishly, "I actually didn't think that part through. I was kind of hoping you guys would have an idea."

"I don't, but I'll ask Dix. He might be able to come up with something." I give her my half-smile, "Wouldn't want you to get sick."

She blushes again, something that I can't help but think adds to her appeal.

"Too bad I wasn't made perfect like you guys, huh?" she says, laughing weakly at herself.

"Oh, they made us far from perfect, sweetheart." I inform her, "If we were perfect, they would have stopped with the X-5's. No, they made plenty of mistakes."

I think about Ben, my twin. I think about all the time I spent in Psy-Ops. And I think about...the Berrisford mission. If they'd made us perfect, none of that would have happened and I wouldn't care.

"Could've fooled me."

I snap out of it and glance over at Maleah. She's staring at me with that same concerned and curious look that Max sometimes looks at me with. I curse inwardly at myself for letting enough emotion show through to catch her attention. I'm slipping. So, I grin to through her off the trail and lean closer into her space.

"Don't get the wrong idea about us. We're not some kind of innocent downtrodden heroes. Okay, maybe Max is, but not the rest of us. We're soldiers, killers, we were made that way. We were born that way."

"Are you trying to scare me?" she asks, leaning towards me.

"Why? Are you?" I raise an eyebrow.

"No." she answers just before I close the remaining distance between us and kiss her.

----------


	6. Maleah's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

Maleah's POV:

I watch silently as Max and Alec...exchange pleasantries. She's a pretty intimidating person, Max. She seems like she's one of those people who's had a really tough life and has developed an attitude to fight back. But, they've all had a tough life, all the transgenics. You can't hold it against them if they're rough around the edges.

Alec moves past me and collects some papers.

"You're going outside, aren't you?" I venture, seeing as they're meeting at the sewer tunnel that leads outside.

"Don't ever let anyone tell you you're not a quick one." Alec replies, not looking up from the papers he's gathering.

"It's crazy out there tonight. What's so important?" I wonder.

"Not that it's really any of your business just yet, but we like eating around this joint." Alec answers, folding the papers and sticking them in his jacket.

"I can help." I immediately chip in even though I don't even know what's really going on.

Alec glances over at me and smiles amusedly, "I don't think so, babe."

I start to make an argument, but check myself. I have to remember that I haven't earned the right to help them yet. I realize that the transgenics are like abused children or pets in that sense. It takes time and patience for them to be able to trust that you won't hurt them. So, instead of arguing, I nod. Alec seems relieved that I'm not putting up a fight. He gestures for me to have a seat at the table he just cleared off as he turns to go get something from a metal closet. I sit down and look around, catching a glimpse of a bunch of guns in the closet Alec opens. My mind races as I think of what might be required for the transgenics to get food, but I squelch the thought. It's none of my business, like Alec said.

"I'll be back soon. Dog-boy will keep you entertained." Alec promises as he heads out the door. Just before the door swings shut, he pokes his head back in, grinning devilishly, "Miss me."

I roll my eyes and he disappears. I glance over at the giant walking lizard that for some unfathomable reason is called Mole, but he's pointedly ignoring me. Oh, well. You win some, you lose some. Not everybody is going to like me. Actually, in the past I've always been better at making enemies than friends. Why should the transgenics be any different? Well, except Alec. He's plenty different.

I cut off that train of thought quickly. It was starting to seem suspiciously like I was developing a crush. I would not let that happen. No way. I was not going to make this all weird and complicated and...girly. So, instead I decide to play pin the purpose on the transgenic. Mole was pretty obviously designed for some desert environment. He could probably fight for days in the heat with little water. The albino guy working at a computer station with three fans surrounding it was probably designed for combat in the opposite extreme. Got to have all your bases covered, right? Never know where some covert ops mission might take you. And it was pretty obvious by now that these Manticore guys had meant serious business. And while some of their creations seemed a bit too extreme, that had to be the consequence of tampering with genetics.

"Hi." a gruff voice says from right behind me, making me jump.

I spin around to see an immensely tall, half-man, half-dog sniffing at me. It was hard to keep my jaw from dropping even after seeing so many transgenics.

"Hi." I manage in a voice that sounds more like a squeak. Aggravated with myself, I clear my throat and try again, "Hi. I guess you're Joshua."

He nods vigorously, giving a very toothy grin. I force myself not to take a step back. He seems nice enough and besides, Alec wouldn't have left me with him if he was dangerous. Hmmm, maybe I'm placing a bit too much trust in someone I only just met.

"You new fella. Come to live with freaks. Freaks like Joshua." he pauses and sniffs at me again, leaning a little too far into my personal space for my comfort, "But you not freak."

"Well, maybe not your kind of freak." I reply. I shuffle my feet a bit, feeling awkward and uncomfortable. And, unfortunately, when I start to feel uncomfortable, I start to babble, "But I wouldn't say I'm altogether normal, either. Not that you're not normal. Well, you're not...but there's nothing wrong with that! Not that it was okay what they did to you guys, but...I'm glad they did. I mean, I'm glad you guys are around. I mean....oh, hell."

Finally, I manage to make my mouth stop moving and spouting off things that could seriously offend my new hosts. Seriously, how stupid could I be? I glance up at Joshua and offer what I hope is an apologetic smile. I never was very good with facial expressions.

"Sorry." I say sheepishly.

Joshua just grins and gives me a pat on the back. It nearly sends me face-first into the floor, but I'm glad he's not upset.

"Come. Meet everyone." Joshua says, like nothing had happened, like I wasn't a blathering idiot.

Joshua wraps an arm around my shoulders and propels me forward towards the working transgenics. It's all I can do to keep my feet under me. Joshua not only looks a little dog-like, he acts it, too. He's like an excited puppy, barking out the names of transgenics as he drags me past. The transgenics in turn only briefly glance up from whatever they're doing to acknowledge the introduction. Most of them were around when I was dragged in anyway. It was kind of nice to know what to call them for future reference, though. Too bad I was horrible at remembering names.

Only minutes later, Joshua had named every transgenic in the building. I almost sighed with relief. I needed time to register all this new information. Today had been a big day. But before I even had a chance to mentally catch my breath, Joshua was grabbing my considerably smaller hand and leading me outside.

"Joshua, where are we going?" I ask.

"Meet others." Joshua replies.

It then occurs to me in a flash of horror that Joshua might actually intend to introduce me to every transgenic housed in Terminal City. I'm definitely not up for that just yet. I plant my heels, hoping he'll stop, but he doesn't seem to notice. He just keeps pulling me, my sneakers squeaking as they slide on the concrete. I have no choice, I have to say something.

"J...Joshua! Maybe I should wait to meet the others. You know, just a few at a time. That way I can remember their names and not offend anyone. Well, with any luck not offend anyone. Isn't there something else we could do while we wait for Max and Alec?" I ask.

Joshua pauses and thinks, scratching at his thick, shaggy hair.

"Want food?" he asks.

I pause to consider it. Come to think of it, I am a little hungry. Kind of strange since it's the middle of the night. Must be all the excitement.

"Sure." I shrug.

"This way." Joshua says, grabbing my hand again and dragging me in a new direction, "You like paintings?" he asks over his shoulder.

Puzzled, I repeat my previous answer, "Sure."

Joshua flashes another toothy grin and moves even quicker. I have to almost jog to keep up. But I don't complain. At least he seems to like me and I am kind of curious about the paintings comment. Is he taking me to some kind of transgenics all-you-can-eat buffet/art gallery? Unlikely, but anything is possible, right?

Joshua's mumbling something, but I can't make out what it is. It sounds like he's saying something about "mac 'n cheese," but who knows? I decide not to question it. I'll find out soon enough.

----------


	7. Alec's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

Alec's POV:

I follow Max as we scale the side of a building. There's really no doubt about it. Max has a nicer ass. Although it's really not a fair comparison since she was genetically engineered to be perfect and Maleah just happened to turn out nice by the grace of nature. So, therefore, she has a handicap that I guess puts them at about even and...

"Ow!" I protest as Max's foot slams into my face.

Max looks down at me expressionlessly for a moment, then continues climbing. I guess she noticed where I was looking.

"Not my fault you had to go first." I grumble.

She really shouldn't overreact like that all the time. I mean, can't she take a compliment? So I was looking at her ass. It's what any red-blooded, straight male would do in my situation. Ask anybody.

There's another point for Maleah. She's not mean.

"You know, Max, so far our heists together have really been less that spectacular. First, you lose us that baseball that I was so generously going to split with you. Then, you get us stuck in a closet for hours. Now, you're trying to cause me to slip and injure myself when you know this is a two-man job. Really, Maxie." I shake my head and make disapproving noises.

Max looks down at me again and this time her eyes spark with rage.

"Shut up, Alec." she hisses.

"What?" I ask innocently, "You think I'll wake them up?"

I make myself sound almost hopeful and make faces through the window we're passing. Max's boot connects with the top of my head and, irritated I grab her ankle before she can pull away.

"That's really not the best way to get my attention, Maxie." I inform her.

"Well, I was going to kick your ass, but I got confused. You think you could label which is which?"

"Been that long has it, Max? Can't remember which end is which?" I retort, smirking at her.

She tries to shake her foot free, undoubtedly to kick me again, but I'm not letting go.

"God, I hate you." Max growls, "This is the last time I take you on a heist with me."

"For your information, I'm taking you with me this time. I could have gone solo. You wouldn't have known anything about it until you caught me spending the money. It was only out of the goodness of my heart that I included you."

"And it's only out of the goodness of my heart that I don't kick you in the nuts again and render you permanently impotent."

"It would take more than you to pull that off, Maxie."

Max half-growls, half-screams in fury and I decide that now would be a good time to let go of her. You know, before she decides that cutting my hand off would be the best way to reply.

We make the rest of the climb in silence. Well, maybe not silence. Max is kind of hyperventilating or something. I wait until we reach the roof and I have the opportunity to turn my back to her while I pull up our ropes before I grin. Pissing off Max should really be a sport. I could go pro.

When I turn back towards Max, she's already dislodged a part of the air vent, our point of entry.

"Should I go first this time?" I ask.

"Like I trust you to lead. We'd be lost in two minutes." Max predicts with unjustified skepticism.

"I would not. I'm the one who designed this plan, after all." I remind her.

"That's exactly why I don't like it." Max replies, scowling.

"Whatever. I was just trying to give you a chance to stare at my fine ass, but if you're going to be all doubting and grouchy, then forget it."

Max delivers a quick punch to my arm before lowering herself into the vent system. I make a face at the back of her head before moving to follow her. She really needs to lighten up. I think she's actually gotten even more uptight ever since she took charge at TC. Well, if that's even possible. OC used to tell me that she wasn't always like this, that she used to be like me, a happy-go-lucky sociopath as Logan once said. I still find that hard to believe, but I don't see any reason why OC would lie. Sure wish I could have met Max back then. Oh, well.

I crawl after Max, not thrilled at all to be squeezing through these tight quarters after a cranky female X5. But I can't complain. It was my plan, after all.

"Max, this sucks." I complain.

I never was one to take my own advice.

"Alec, shut up." Max snaps in a whisper.

"You're getting really repetitive, Maxie." I observe, before continuing in my best whiny Max impression, "Shut up, Alec. Go away, Alec. I'll kick your ass, Alec. This is all your fault, Alec. Got any new ones?"

"How about I'm going to ram my fist down your throat and rip out your vocal cords, Alec?" Max growls with mock sweetness.

"Like to see you try." I taunt.

That probably wasn't the best thing I could have said because the next thing I know Max has somehow managed to twist around to face me. I throw up my hands to block the punch I know is coming. But Max once again performs some kind of Max miracle and gets past my defenses to grab my hair...and pull...really hard!

"Ow! Jesus!" I cry, moving quickly towards her to ease the pain.

Surprised, Max moves away and we're suddenly crammed next to each other in the vent. Seeing an opportunity, I send an elbow backwards towards Max's stomach. Her breath rushes out in a woosh against my neck and her grip on my hair relaxes. I quickly flip to face her so she can't tighten her hold again. This proves to be a mistake when Max's fist makes an appearance in my face.

"Bitch!" I exclaim, forgetting until too late the negative effect that name has on Max's attitude and the consequences I suffered the last time I called her that.

Max's eyes widen slightly and I quickly raise one knee to block her's. My groan definitely does not want to relive that experience.

"You...ass!" she returns.

Max's arm winds its way around my throat and begins to close off the lovely connection I have with oxygen.

"Knew...you were...obsessed...with my ass." I choke out.

Max's arm tightens even more. She's making me light headed. I grab her arm and heave while at the same time pushing against the side of the vent with my feet. Max's body flies over my body and I twist the arm she had around my neck behind her back, pushing her face up against the wall.

That's when I heard the old metal groan in protest. Max and I both froze.

"Well, that doesn't sound good." I comment just before the vent sections rip apart and Max and I plummet towards the ground.

The vent fixtures separate from the ceiling and our section take a turn downward, making Max and I slide down and land with less than X5 grace in a pile on the carpet. Another millisecond later, alarms start to go off.

"You forgot to mention that there are motion alarms." Max yells over the noise, smacking me in the back of the head as she tries to untangle herself.

"How was I supposed to know?" I demand in reply.

The damn ropes have somehow managed to get involved in our tangle, making it even harder for me to get away from Miss Moody.

"Some reconnaisance." she scoffs.

"How about you do all the hard work next time, then?"

"You wouldn't know hard work if it kicked you in the balls."

"Of course not. You're the only one who does something that low."

"You asked for it!"

"Like hell!"

"God, I hate you so much!"

"Don't kid yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I open my mouth to explain it to her when lights suddenly snap on. I crane my neck around to see the owner of the home standing in the doorway wearing a bathrobe and holding a pistol.

"Ummm...hi?" I offer.

I see the muscles in his hand begin to move, preparing to squeeze the trigger. You've got to love the shoot first type. I know that there's no way I'm going to be able to get free of Max and the ropes in time to dodge the bullet. So, I move into the tangle, wrapping my arms around Max's frame and rolling us across the floor. The bullet slams into the carpet in about the same area that my head used to be.

"Get off me!" Max growls in my ear.

"Shut up." I snap, rolling back the way we came in time to dodge another mortal wound.

An idea suddenly comes to mind, but I don't have time to explain it to Max. I hope she'll catch on as I pull my leg up between us and push my foot against her stomach. I hold on to her shoulders as her legs go flying towards Mr. Trigger Happy. I see realization flicker through Max's eyes just before her boots hit the guy's chest. He staggers backwards and fires randomly, blowing out a window. He's off balance, giving Max time to squirm free of the ropes. I trust her to dispactch the guy as I try to make sense of the tangle that is now solely around me. Really, how did we manage this? I've almost got it figured out when a shot lands real close to my arm.

"Hey, watch it!" I yell at Max.

"Sorry." she says quickly in a very unsincere manner.

I grumble about her lack of concern for my wellbeing while I get the last of the ropes undone. I climb to my feet just in time to see the man of the home crumble to the ground unconcscious.

"Took you long enough." I mutter.

"Shut up." she snaps reflexively, "Let's get what we came for and get out before the cops show up."

"Gee, now there's a plan."

Max doesn't reply so I figure that she's decided to ignore me. I follow as she leads the way to the painting I spotted days ago. Then, I notice the fridge.

"Be right back." I whisper.

"Alec! We don't have time for..."

I tune out whatever else she has to say and disappear into the kitchen. I'm starving and there's no doubt in my mind that people as rich as this guy have a well-stocked fridge. I whip open the door and bag everything that looks good. Including some cans of imported beer, a half-eaten piece of chocolate cake wrapped in plastic, and tub of actual ice cream. This guy must really be loaded. I mean, ice cream, real ice cream costs a ton! I've never actually had any. I've just heard about it. This is awesome.

"Alec!" Max snaps from behind me, grabbing my shirt, "Let's go!"

I allow her to tug me out of the room by my clothing, but continue to stare longingly at the remaining items in the fridge. Oh, well. A score's a score.

"Okay, okay." I say, snapping out of it and peeling her hands off me, "I'm coming."

She's probably stretched out my shirt now. Great.

We make for the window and I can hear sirens. The police have arrived. Max glances at me and I motion towards the roof. She nods. Up is the only way out of here. Besides, we're on the top floor anyway. I lean out the window and judge the distance to the roof. It's not too far.

"Max, come here."

She looks at me suspiciously.

"Why?"

"I'm going to give you a boost onto the roof. Then, I can toss you a rope and you can pull me up." I explain slowly so that she can understand.

"No way. I so don't trust you." she shakes her head vehemently.

"Well, you so don't have a choice. Now, hurry up."

She's still shaking her head in protest, but I grab her arm and yank her over, nearly throwing her out the window.

"Now, give me your foot or I'll shove you up there by your ass." I threaten. 

Max glares at me, but moves to stand in the window sill and lifts one foot for me to push. I provide the proper momentum and Max goes flying. I see her grab the edge of the roof and flip herself onto it, heels flying over her head so that she lands on her feet. She turns around and leans over the edge, motioning for me to toss up a rope. I comply and give her a minute to brace herself before I climb out the window and put all my weight on the rope.

"Damn, you're heavy." Max complains as I climb.

"Here I thought you were a transgenic with superior strength. My bad." I reply.

"Doesn't mean I want to haul your fat ass around."

"My ass is not fat!" I protest, genuinely hurt by that comment.

"Just hurry up."

I decide to do what she wants for once seeing as there's law enforcement coming up the stairs inside. I make it onto the roof and we both take off running, leaping the expanse to the building next door. Another couple leaps takes us to the end of the street where we whip out the ropes again and climb down.

----------


	8. Max's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

Max's POV:

Alec is such an idiot. Who in their right mind decides to raid the fridge instead of getting what they came for and getting the hell out when an alarm is sounding? Men. If they're not thinking with their dick, they're thinking with their stomach.

"I think we should take what we've got and get back to TC." I announce, "It's too dangerous now that you've tipped off the cops."

"First off, _I_ did not tip off the cops. _We _tipped off the cops. Second, this is perfect. Now the cops will be busy with that place. We're free to have a night on the town." Alec protests.

I open my mouth to explain to Alec how stupid he is, but then I realize that he might be right. As badly as we'd botched that job, the cops definitely would not be expecting us to try any more robberies. God, I hate it when Alec's right.

"You better not screw anything else up!" I threaten, shaking a fist in his face before I stalk off down the street towards my motorcycle.

Alec follows, sliding on the bike behind me. I realize as we speed off and he wraps his arms around my waist that I've grown way too used to him. I try to imagine a day without his infuriating presence, but it's impossible. That's very upsetting. That means that he's actually managed to worm his way into my already FUBAR life. Great. That means I actually care about him. Better never let him know that. There'd be no living with him.

I almost sigh with relief when I spot our second target and pull over. Riding my bike makes me think too much sometimes. Mostly when I'm not going so fast that I need to concentrate on not wiping out.

"Okay, now I know for a fact there's no motion alarms this time. I made a delivery here once." Alec says.

I roll my eyes at him in reply then continue studying the place from a distance. Even from this far away my revved up sight lets me pick out security cameras.

"Come on, Max. Hurry it up. I lifted some stuff that could melt if we keep standing around here all night." Alec whines.

"Shut up. We'll go when I'm ready." but he's aroused my curiosity, "What kind of stuff?"

I watch as a grin spreads across Alec's face and I know that I'm in for it again, but I can't help it. Too much cat in my cocktail. I have to know what he took.

Alec hefts a bag and dangles it in front of me. I grab at it, but he pulls it away.

"Come on, Alec! Let me see!" I command.

"You just want to take what I've rightfully stolen." Alec accuses.

I pause momentarily. That comment sounds vaguely familiar. Only in Logan's voice. And with more sarcasm. Oh, well.

"Don't be an ass. I just want to know what you got."

"Okay. But I'm not sharing." Alec insists.

"Fine." I agree, snatching the sack.

I can feel Alec watching with that smug grin as I examine the contents of his grab bag: beer (that figures), chocolate cake (hmmm, guess he's got a sweet tooth), cheese, bread, chicken,...wait a minute!

"Is that....?" I start to ask, glancing up at him.

"Mine?" Alec finishes, snatching back the bag, "Yep."

"You lifted some actual ice cream and you're not going to share with me?" I ask incredulously, adding a little bit of a pout for effect.

"Well, yeah."

"After all the times I've saved your ass...you owe me!" I protest.

"Like hell! You only had to save my ass because you put it in danger! And besides, I saved your ass that first time with White, but do I ever bring it up?"

"Of course not, you're too busy being an idiot!"

"You're really not winning me over."

"You know what, forget it. This is stupid." I declare and stalk off towards the house.

God damn I hate it when Alec's right.

----------


	9. Alec's POV

Disclaimer: I don't own Dark Angel, so on and so forth. You know the drill.

Setting: After FN

A/N: Please review. I'd love any ideas you guys have about what should happen in this story. This is kind of a 'what I would do if I was in Dark Angel' story so feel free to give me some input on that. Thanks.

A Normal Girl

Alec's POV:

Why does she have to do that? Everything's perfectly fine, we're having some fun, then she has to go and ruin it. It's like she has to prevent herself from having a good time.

I sigh and stash my loot with the bike before I follow after her. The rest of the night is definitely going to suck now. Max will sulk the whole time and probably ignore me which I can't stand. Oh, well. If she wants to be stupid about this, then fine. I didn't do anything wrong this time. This is all her doing so she can work it out on her own.

She's stopped just outside the entry gate, so I catch up to her there.

"Jump the fence, disarm the cameras and the door alarm, in and out." Max says without looking at me.

"You think?" I reply.

I see Max twitch a little at that remark, but she doesn't say anything. She just takes off for the fence and leaps over. I roll my eyes at her stubbornness and follow. Sometimes hanging out with Max feels an awful lot like banging your head into something hard and metal repeatedly. Hmmm, and sometimes I end up with similar bruises, too.

Max moves to take the camera on the left, so I head for the one on the right. In about four seconds I've reworked the wiring so that the image will loop the past 60 seconds of empty front yard. I glance up and to my surprise and annoyance, Max has finished about a second before me. Ten years of training on her and she finishes a second before me. I'm getting rusty. But rather than gloat, Max continues to give me the silent treatment. I resist the urge to sigh again and watch as she moves to the door and disables the alarm.

When I'd first stopped by this place, I'd earmarked it for the big screen TV. Sadly, that kind of haul just wouldn't fit on Max's bike so we were here for the fancy sculptures in the entrance hall and for the safe that I'd just happened to notice when the woman of the home stashed the package I delivered.

I start to head for the safe, but Max shoves her way past me and goes to work on it.

"Fine." I grumble, turning to gather the sculptures, "Stupid stubborn female. If I didn't know better I'd swear she's PMSing. Damn, I know I wouldn't bother if she wasn't so hot."

"Would you shut the hell up?" Max snaps.

I glance at her. I'd almost forgotten that she has the same sensitive hearing that I do. At least she's talking to me again. Well, maybe not talking so much as yelling, but it's a start.

"Gee, and hear I was thinking of sharing my ice cream until you so rudely yelled at me."

You know, I don't think I'd ever hear Maleah giving me such a hard time about nothing. Well, maybe not nothing. With Max it's always something. But man, I'm really starting to think staying home and entertaining the newest resident of TC would have been a lot more fun than this. We were just starting to hit it off, too. Yeah, she definitely wasn't too bad looking. A little chubbier than most of the girls I see on a daily basis in TC, but a little time in there will melt the pounds off anybody. Seriously, the stress alone burns about a pound a week. And to be fair, the girls I see on a daily basis tend to be X5's these days and X5's do have the advantage of a hyperactive metabolism. Which leads me to the reason why I raided that fridge in the first place. A high metabolic rate like the one all X5's have means two things: first, you'll never run across an overweight X5 and second, X5's are always hungry. Which is probably why Max and I tended to raid Logan's fridge every time we stopped by. Max could always get away with this, of course, but I had to be a little more sneaky about it. Give Max and Logan a private moment, stuff my face with pasta, pop back in before things got a little too "dramatic." I may not think too much of Logan, but the guy knows his food. Not that I don't like Logan. He's just a little too high and mighty for me. He's always all, "Hello. I'm Logan the superhero. Not only have I managed to overcome my wheelchair, but I did so while simultaneously broadcasting an Eyes Only hack saving small children from evil drug lords and cooking risotto. Aren't you in awe of my amazing talents? But don't worry, I will bring myself to stoop to your uneducated and immoral level so that I may share my lofty and idealistic principles with you. I'm that good of a guy."

But hey, I can't get too mad at him. I can't really blame him for getting caught up in the "spell of Max." I mean, would I really be here stealing....well, bad example. Would I be living in TC where the air always smells funny if it weren't for Max? Seriously, what is it about her that makes people do things against their better judgment all the time? I get that she's extremely hot, but it's more than that. For example, in my case I've come to accept that there is absolutely no way in hell that Max would ever, ever sleep with me so the hotness factor should no longer be an issue. And yet, here I am, taking more abuse for no good reason. Why?

I instinctively flinch when I feel Max's fist on my skull.

"Hello?" she calls, continuing to knock on my head, "Is Alec home? 'Cause we really need to get going."

I push her hand away and head for the door without replying. Give her a little taste of her own medicine.

I catch her frown in that confused, pouty way she has out of the corner of my eye and then I hear her follow after me. I can't help but grin for a second, knowing that my plan's working. She maintains stubborn silence until we've almost reached her bike before she gives.

"Okay, Alec. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I don't know what's up with me."

"I don't think I heard that. Could you repeat that? A little louder maybe?" I ask, cupping my hand to my ear.

"Oh, shut up. You heard me." she saves, shoving me.

But she doesn't shove me too hard and she's smiling, which are both good signs. I stash my loot on the bike and grab the sack from the earlier stop.

"You wanna share this before it melts?" I ask, reaching in and pulling out the tub of ice cream.

I catch a glint of what appears to be desire in Max's eyes as she fixates on the ice cream, but she shakes her head slightly.

"Not here. Someone's bound to figure out they've been ripped off soon. Come on. I've got an idea." she says, getting on the bike and patting the spot behind her.

I don't need to be told twice. It's not often that Max is in a good mood, especially after I've pissed her off a couple times in a row. I definitely do not want to pass up this chance to see what Max is like when she's not hitting me or yelling at me or sulking or acting like the tragic hero. So I hop on behind her and avoid asking any questions. Besides, I have a hunch that I know where she's going anyway. And when the Space Needle looms closer, my hunch is confirmed.

"Miss that place, don't you?" I ask, knowing she'll here me despite the wind whipping past.

"Yeah." she replies after too long of a pause while shifting her seat.

"Max?" I press, suspicious.

"What?" she snaps.

It dawns on me that Max has been sneaking out, visiting the Space Needle. It also occurs to me that I could bring up how hypocritical it is of her to yell at me for sneaking out of TC when she's been doing that exact thing. But finally, I realize that holding this over Max's head right now would not be the best idea. Besides, I can always remind her of this the next time I've got somewhere slightly outside of TC that I have to be.

"Nothing." I reply.

"Good." Max says as she stops the bike at the base of the Needle.

I slide off the back and Max's springs off after me. In an effort to get back the happy Max I decide to challenge her.

"Race you to the top?"

"Alec, you are such a child." Max says, frowning at me.

I shrug and turn to grab the bag with the ice cream in it, "Whatever."

But when I turn back around, Max has disappeared.

"That's cheating!" I yell after her before I take off up the stairs.

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End file.
